La Crema Kelli Ann Vineyard Chardonnay 2017
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
On the nose hints of lemon curd, fresh nectarine, and nutmeg followed by flavors of Meyer Lemon, white peach, and hints of crème brûlée on the palate. Overall the 2017 vintage has great concentration and an elegant finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This delightfully bright, balanced wine tastes of freshly squeezed Meyer lemon and mango, with a breadth of texture and weight on the palate. Well made, it has ample acidity to keep it moving through a complex corridor of oak and supple tannin.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Chardonnay Kelli Ann Vineyard was barrel fermented and aged 15 months in 35% new French oak. It comes from vines off Eastside Road on the banks of the Russian River, planted in 1989. It opens to scents of yellow apple, salted almonds, crushed stone, lemon peel and meringue with a classy framing of sweet spice. The palate is light to medium-bodied and delicately intense, with appealing citrusy flavor layers and mouthwatering acidity, finishing long on a honeyed note.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Fermented and aged in 35% new French oak, the 2017 Chardonnay Kelli-Ann Vineyard comes from the Russian River and spent 14 months in barrel prior to bottling. A ripe, classic bouquet of buttered apples, white flowers, toasted bread, and hints of nuttiness give way to a medium-bodied Chardonnay that's nicely balanced, with good acidity and a great finish. It's another high-quality Chardonnay from this estate that I'd be happy to drink.
Other Vintages
2018-
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Enthusiast
The winery's original name, La Crema Viñera, means "best of the vine," setting the standard for all the team has done since 1979. For more than 35 years, the family-owned and operated winery has focused exclusively on cool-climate appellations, from its original home in the Russian River Valley, to Monterey and, now, the Willamette Valley. La Crema is continually exploring these very special regions—passionate in the belief that they make uniquely expressive and elegant wines. Thorough vineyard site selection and boutique winemaking techniques ensure the consistently distinct, naturally balanced wines La Crema is committed to producing.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.